Day 4 - Innaminka to Quilpie

 (Kate)

We went to the Innaminka Trading Post to fill up the jerry cans, and to get advice on the latest road closures.  We decided to take the low-risk route going east on the Adventure Way towards Thargomindah, then going north to Quilpie.

Crossing the border into QLD was an exciting moment, and the landscape seemed to change straight away.  Green on the ground as far as the eye could see, with frequent creek crossings with large trees in them.  Mid-afternoon we turned onto the Cooper Developmental Road, and saw more evidence of recent rainfall (puddles) and lots of cattle grazing.  There has been lots of single-lane bitumen since we left Innaminka, with double lane sections on crests and over creeks.

We stopped in Eromanga for fuel.  Eromanga's claim to fame is being the furthest town from any sea in Australia.  About 50km before we got there, an ABS warning light came on in the car.  We didn't know what it meant, and the car didn't feel any different, so we decided to press on and look it up in the manual later.  When we stopped for fuel, one of the back tyres was down, and an examination with a solution of shampoo and water revealed a hole.  Ben extracted a 3 inch nail from the hole ("well there's your problem") and plugged it using a "worm".  Now we know that the ABS warning light is a signal to stop and check tyres.

We camped at a gravel stop on the Diamantina Development Road between Quilpie and Windorah.  Because of the recent rains, we decided to stick to the bitumen and a known campsite, rather than risk getting bogged trying to find our own spot on the side of the road, even though it will mean setting up in the dark.

Wildlife that we've seen today - lots of birds at Innaminka, camels, a pig, kangaroos, cattle, emus and eagles.

Our new favourite desert is peanut butter spread on corn thins :)

Day 3 - Yerelina Creek to Innaminka

 (Kate)

We drove all day on the Strzelecki to get to Innaminka, and arrived with about 1/8th of a fuel tank to spare.  The main fuel tank holds 70L and the auxiliary holds 55L, and we carried 2x10L jerrycans.  The first section of the track was pretty chopped up and corrugated, but the section from Moomba to Innaminka was pretty smooth.  We paused at the Moomba Mine Lookout to read about it and say "ooh ahh" at the extensive infrastructure of the mine.  We were surprised by how many bitumen sections there were on the track, too. 

Diesel was $1.90/L at the Innaminka Trading Post, and there were plenty of other travellers there.  We put $10 in the honesty box to camp at the town common, by the Cooper Creek.  "Where the is water, there is life" was certainly true here.  Lots of birds, even a pelican.  A small mouse-like creature with big ears came and sniffed around in our wood bag for a while.  Adorable.

The temperature was noticeably milder overnight, but still cold.  The fleecy inner sheets we bought last year are a game-changer.

Day 2 - Carrieton to Yerelina Creek (Mt Lyndhurst)

(Kate)

It was a very cold night and so we stayed in bed for a while to put off getting up.  We eventually got going by 10:30am.  This sounds lazy, but it isn't really because it takes us 2 hours to pack up camp.  We got going, and paused at Hawker to refuel.  There were lots of caravaners at the park near the pub, where we pulled over for a late morning tea.  The park, that is, not the pub.

Hawker is the last expected OPTUS coverage until we get to Longreach in QLD.  Telstra has far better coverage in outback Australia than anyone else, but we also have an HF radio, and are members of the VKS-737 radio network, so we're not really fussed.  We filled in a "Declaration to enter QLD" the day before we left Adelaide, declaring that we hadn't been to any hotspots and therefore were not a risk to Queenslanders.  We learned from the news that the COVID situation is escalating in Sydney, Darwin, and the Tanamei Mine, and now there is a positive case in Perth.  It seems like we are getting out the city at the right time.

We headed onwards, and stopped for lunch by the side of the road in Parachilna - (first photo) almost deserted now.  Except for all the travellers who had also pulled over there to make lunch :)

Subscribing to Wikicamps has been a good investment - it gave us a campsite at Yerelina Creek, Mt Lyndhurst, about 70km NE of Lyndhurst on the Strzelecki Track.  A group of caravans were also camped at this free site, but there was plenty of room for everyone.   The couple we helped out of the creek bed last night gave us a bottle of Tasmanian wine as a thankyou gift.  Only problem was, we don't carry a corkscrew with us.  "No corkscrew, no problem", said Ben as he dived for his toolbox, and came back with a woodscrew and a pair of vicegrips.

The Strzelecki is now open to 4WD and heavy vehicles after being closed for a couple of days after the "atmospheric river of rain" swept across inland Australia.  The start of the track was still pretty chopped up after being driven on when still damp, but it was OK.

It was another cold night, 4.9 degrees when I got up - the kind of cold that you light a campfire to sit around at breakfast time.

Day 1 - Adelaide to (just north of) Carrieton

(Kate)

After months of preparation and even longer dreaming about it, we departed home for our big adventure beyond the nest.   We left a cold and drizzly Adelaide at about 9:30am and drove off with great excitement, looking forward to some warmth as we get further north.  We have 2 minecraft mascots travelling on the dashboard - an enderman and a cow.  We don't have a name for the cow so they are called "Endy and Friendy"  because it rhymes and we like that :)

It was a nice drive through Roseworthy, Tarlee (where we failed to spot our good friend waving at us from the side of the road - sorry that we didn't see you Liz!), Burra, Peterborough, Orroroo and Carrieton.  We bought some online maps called ExploreOZ before we left, and Ben spent some time getting this to work with a GPS/bluetooth app.  There was muttering from Ben as this occurred.  LOTS of muttering.  This is a work in progress.

Near sunset, we were looking for a free camp that we have used before, when we were flagged down by someone just north of Carrieton.  They had planned to camp the night in a creek bed, but hadn't counted on their 2WD car getting bogged in the loose gravel and stones.  It was our first opportunity to use the winch, and it was an easy recovery using the winch cable as a tow rope from the back of the trailer, where the winch is stored.  We invited the couple to share our free campsite, which was on the same creek a little further up the road.  Keith the expert rememberer of geography, spotted the track leading to the camp, which the rest of us had missed.  We all had a great chat over dinner around the campfire, sharing our travel dreams and plans.  The couple hailed from Tassie, and were heading ultimately to Darwin, but planned to see the Ikara Flinders Ranges along the way.

The new drawers and pull-out fridge/freezer system in the back of the Delica, that Ben designed, and Ben and his dad built, are working really well.  They are so user friendly, and maximize use of the space. I have to say that having a freezer is a game-changer.  Usually we have fresh vegetables for the first few days, and then we're down to canned peas and corn, and dehydrated peas.  Being able to carry frozen meat and frozen veggies is a real treat.  "What about icecream?" says Keith.  Fair question!

It was cold enough overnight to wear jumpers to bed and pull our beanies down over our faces as we slept, but we don't mind.  One day and we're feeling more relaxed already.

The Travel Blog

(Nicole) 

This blog will be an online recording of our travelling. It will be a family blog, and posts will show who wrote them up the top in brackets, as shown above. This was originally going to be a research project blog for me to use to record journaling of my own, however, that will not work if this is to be a public blog. Some of my journaling will be recorded here, however not much of it. There will still be (hopefully) plenty of posts here when internet and mobile range allows.

Enjoy :)